Rappel

Named in 1974 when the first divers literally rappelled 65 feet down the cliff to reach the water; today every dive shop's boat ties to the permanent mooring instead. The cliff face continues underwater to about 10 m, where a terrace 15-20 m wide runs seaward before the wall drops steeply into deep water. The signature feature is a wave-cut undercut at the waterline — like swimming in a cave with one side open — roofed in orange cup corals, with huge sea fans and gorgonians crowding the shallows. Tiger grouper, French angelfish and barracuda work the wall. Surge in the undercut and boat-rock at the exposed mooring give it more bite than the southern sites.